Amid political gridlock, and against the backdrop of gerrymandering and voter suppression, citizen-led efforts to boost voting rights through ballot initiatives are under way in a handful of states.One such effort concerns “Question 2” — whether to allow voters to either register or update their registration on the same day as the election. Maryland is Read More

On Friday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) acknowledged that voter suppression efforts by Republicans are significant enough to swing key Senate races in Arizona and North Dakota. In Arizona, where Democrat Kyrsten Sinema is virtually tied with Republican Martha McSally, outdated voter databases which do not automatically update new home addresses could mean up Read More

If you live in Alabama and have a felony record, you’ll probably need a lawyer to help you figure out what “moral turpitude” means — otherwise you may not be allowed to vote. But a new digital tool is helping to clarify the voting rights restoration process for voters with past felony convictions — just in time for the midterm elections.

Many of the 1.6 million disenfranchised felons in Florida may be one step closer to being able to vote thanks to a ruling from a federal judge. Earlier this week, US District Judge Mark Walker ordered Gov. Rick Scott (R) to devise a new system to restore convicted felons’ right to vote by April 26.The Read More

There are so many threats to democracy that it is hard to keep track of them all. That is why WhoWhatWhy is launching an Election Integrity News feed that provides an overview of all developments in this crucial area.

The US Constitution is a treasured document to many, but it is not perfect. Whereas other countries explicitly lay out the right to vote in their constitutions, it is conspicuously absent from the US version. Unfortunately Americans are still living with the results today.

Like so many important subjects, the future battle over improving our election system is about technical issues. Don’t let the geek factor throw you off: whether we emphasize accessibility for the disabled or a reliable paper trail is a very big deal for us all. The question is: Can we have it all?

Ohio’s Republicans came within three weeks of preventing hundreds of thousands of voters from casting ballots. However, another one of their efforts to suppress the vote in the Buckeye state succeeded.

As soon as the opportunity arose, Virginia Republicans put in place laws that would make it more difficult for many likely Democratic voters to access the polls. Their efforts could make all the difference in November.

A new study shows that there is a wide gap between states when it comes to providing access to the ballot box for their citizens. States won by President Barack Obama generally performed much better with regard to ballot box access while those won by Mitt Romney in the last presidential election did very poorly.